It’s November and time for reflections - and thinking of Homestead Exemptions?!

If you purchased your primary residence in 2016, make sure to put on your “to do” list for January 2017 to apply for your Homestead Exemption. For those who purchased a primary residence before 2016 and failed to apply for Homestead Exemption, put it on your “to do” list now!

To be granted a homestead exemption in Georgia, a person(s) must actually occupy the home, and the home is considered their legal residence for all purposes. Persons that are away from their home because of health reasons will not be denied homestead exemption. A family member or friend can notify the tax receiver or tax commissioner and the homestead exemption will be granted.

Application for homestead exemption must be filed with the tax commissioner's office, or in some counties the tax assessor's office has been delegated to receive applications for homestead exemption.

A homeowner can file an application for homestead exemption for their home and land any time during the calendar year. To receive the homestead exemption for the current tax year, the homeowner must have owned the property on January 1 and filed the homestead application by the same date property tax returns are due in the county. Property tax returns are required to be filed byApril 1. Homestead applications that are filed after this date will not be granted until the next calendar year.

Failure to apply by the deadline will result in loss of the exemption for that year.

The following links provide information on the Homestead Exemption application process in the following counties: Chatham, Bryan, Effingham and Liberty: